Case history-a wallpaper manufacturer moves towards JIT

The manufacture of wallpaper differs significantly from general engineering. There are, for example, no component parts nor assembly operations, but paper passing through a machine as it is processed. Improvements in quality, material waste reduction and minimising set-up times have all received considerable attention but this paper concentrates on a decision support system to reduce production lead times and improve resource planning. This has also helped concentrate attention on the JIT work ethic of manufacture for sales rather than stock. The algorithms used for planning incorporate the OPT philosophy of identifying the current bottleneck machines and concentrating on the flow through them